Pumping system



Feb. 26, 1963 B. c. MARLOWE 3,073,806

PUMPING SYSTEM Filed March 14, 1960 v 3 Sheets-Sheet l W @gvon Q'YLa Zowe Filed March 14, 1960 B. C. MARLOWE PUMPING SYSTEM v zg. 3 l

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 O. 20 Z 5? 50 MI T zz i j :9 34' i United States Patent Gil-ice 3,073,836 Patented Feb. 26, 1953 3,078,836 PUMPENG SYSTEM Byron C. Marlowe, 1 Willoughby, Rockford, Ill. Filed Mar. 14, 1960, $er. No. 14,922 1 Claim. (Cl. 103-113) This invention relates to a power driven pumping system for withdrawing liquid such as gasoline out of the compartments of an oil barge or a tanker and delivering the same into a storage reservoir on the shore.

One object is to incorporate a pumping system of the above character a normal mechanism for priming and repriming the pump automatically and maintaining continuous operation of the system in spite of the presence of air or other gases therein initially or during the pumping operation.

Another object is to provide a system of the above character in which the parts that may require disassembly and repair in service use are exposed above the deck of the barge and readily accessible.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of a pumping system embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a part of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of part of the pumping system, the section being taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views of different valves, the sections being in the plane 33.

PEG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modified form of the system.

The improved pumping system is especially adapted for use in emptying the compartments 1d of an oil barge through the use of a power driven pump 1?. which delivers the gasoline or other liquid under pressure to a header 13 disposed above the barge deck 14 and leading to a storage reservoir (not shown) on the shore to which the barge is moored. In the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pump is of the multiple stage centrifugal type disposed below the deck 14 with its impellers 15 fast on the lower end of a shaft 16 which extends upwardly through the pump outlet 17, a vertical discharge pipe 18 and a bearing 19 in the latter. The outwardly projecting end of the shaft is coupled through bevel gears 20 with a shaft 21 journaled in and projecting outwardly from a housing 22 and coupled to an engine 23 or other power actuator mounted on and above the barge deck.

The inlet 25 at the lower end of the pump casing communicates with and in this instance is disposed within the lower part of a tank 26 which in the form shown in FIG. 3 is a cylindrical tube closed at its lower and upper ends and extends up through a hole in the deck 14 from which the tank is suspended through a flange 26 The tank surrounds the pump and the discharge pipe 18 and constitutes a well for holding enough liquid to effect proper priming of the pump. The pipe 18 extends up through a cover 31 on the tank and is fixed thereto through the medium of a flange 32.

At a predetermined point above the pump inlet depending on the volume of liquid required for priming, the tank 26 is connected to an intake pipe 27 leading to a header 28 located near the bottom of the barge from which branch pipes 29 are extended to suction nozzles 30 near the bottoms of the different barge compartments Ill. Other headers 28 can also be used to connect the pumping system to other barges.

In accordance with the present invention, the discharge pipe 13 leading from the pump outlet 17 is extended to the delivery header 13 through a second tank 33 arranged to trap and retain a predetermined stand-by volume of liquid which is utilized in the automatic repriming of the pump under the action of an automatic valve 34 which controls the escape of liquid from the tank 33 and gravitation thereof to the priming well 26 whenever the need for reprirning the pump arises. To facilitate disassembly and repair of the automatic valve and associated parts that may require attention in service use, the tank 33 and these parts are disposed in the open and above the deck 14 being supported on a suitable framework 35.

In the form shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the discharge pipe 18 extends up through the tank 26 and the cover 31 there of, bends laterally through the housing 22, and is coupled detachably through an extension 18 of the pipe to a flange on the tank inlet 36. Preferably, the latterv is near the top of the tank so as to better insure trapping of the proper volume of liquid in the tank under all of the con-- ditions that may occur in service use.

After thetank 33 becomes filled, the liquid delivered by the pump is forced up through a top opening 52 and a check valve 34 into a pipe 53 leading through a manually operable valve 55 to the header 13 for conveying the liquid to the storage reservoir. The valve 54 is of the gravity actuated type having in this instance a disk 54 biased by a light spring toward a seat 54 so as to close automatically when the pump pressure is reduced whereby to prevent a reverse flow of liquid from the delivery pipe 53 back into the tank 33.

The valve 34 is mounted on the bottom of the tank for convenient removal and is adapted to close in response to the flow of a predetermined volume of liquid into the tank 33 and to open automatically when the pressure in the tank falls below a predetermined value as a result of the delivery of air or other gas into the tank. To these ends, the valve in the form shown comprises a tubular casing 36 defining an upwardly facing seat 36 intermediate its ends coacting with a disk 37 which is urged by a compression spring 38 to a limit open position shown in full in FIG. 4 in abutment with the casing top 35 in which the stern 37 of the disk slides freely. The disk is somewhat smaller in diameter than the internal wall of the casing so that when the valve is open, there will be a clearance, usually about A of an inch for a disk 2% inches in diameter, around the outer edge of the disk which is then disposed near the upper edges of an annular series of openings 33 formed in the casing about the valve seat 36. Also, in this position, the downwardly sloping margin 37* on the top of the disk is disposed opposite and spaced somewhat below holes 49 in the casing top. The spring 33 is compressed between this top and a nut 42 by which the spring stress may be adjusted to determine the tank pressure at which the valve becomes opened.

To facilitate ready removal of the valve for adjustment or repair, the casing 36 is smaller than and projects up through a hole 45 in the tank bottom against which a flange 43 is clamped by bolts 44. The bolts also serve to clamp the casing end to a flange 46 on the upturned end of a pipe 46 extending horizontally and joined by a coupling 46 to a fitting 47 communicating with the upper end of the tank 26 at a point above the deck 14. A gravity closed flapper type check valve 48 of well known construction as shown in FIG. 5 is interposed in the pipe 46 and is arranged to open automatically under the head of liquid admitted to the pipe when the valve 34 becomes opened. Normally and when the valve 34 is closed, the flapper of the valve 48 gravitates to the closed position shown in FIG. 5. When the valve 34 opens, liquid in the tank 33 gravitates down through the pipe 46 opening the valve 48 and running into the priming well formed by the lower end portion of the tank 26.

-To achieve the desired automatic action of the pump, means is provided for utilizing the return of liquid from the tank 33 back to the priming well to displace the gas which accumulates in the upper end of the latter tank while the system is idle or during the pumping operation. This means includes a pipe 50 opening at 51 into the side of the tank 26 above the deck 14 and extending upwardly and into the top of the tank 33 through a check valve 57 of the construction shown in FIG. 5. Liquid gravitating from this tank into the priming well 26 will displace the gas therein and force the same upwardly through the pipe 50 into the top of the'tank 33 after opening of the check valve 57. Then, during the initial operation of the pump, this gas is displaced by the liquid delivered into the tank 33 and is forced out of the latter through the valve 54 and the pipe 53, the valves 34 and 57 then being closed.

In one successfully operating system of the construction above described, the delivery capacity of the pump 12 was 2200 gallons per minute, the priming well 26 and the tank 33 adapted to hold about 100 and 175 gallons of liquid respectively, and the spring 38 was set to lift the valve disk 37 oil? from its seat in response to a decrease to 8.5 psi. between the pressure in the bottom of the tank 33 and in the pipe 46. At the same time, the valve 34 is closed in response to a pressure differential of 9 psi When the pump is stopped, the valve 34 opens and the liquid trapped in the tank 33 gravitates down through the pipe 46 and into the priming well 26 filling the latter about to a level 56 thus priming the pump. At this time, the upper part of the well 26 and also the intake pipe 27 and the piping leading to the nozzles 30 will normally be filled with air or other gas.

With the pump thus primed, the engine 23 is started driving the pump 12 to draw in liquid from the well 26 and force the same upwardly through the pipe 17 and into the tank 33 at the full capacity of the pump. This liquid first accumulates in the bottom of the tank and starts to escape out through the holes 39 and 40 in the valve casing 36 and return to the priming well, the rate of this flow being only a small part of the rate of delivery of liquid by the pump into the tank 33. The liquid flowing down through the holes 40 impinges against the top of the valve disk 37 thus urging the latter downwardly. At the same time, the flow in through the holes 39 and downwardly through the valve casing 36 creates a vacuum beneath the valve disk. These forces combine with the downward pressure due to the rapidly rising head of liquid in the tank to exert on the valve disk a resultant force which increases and rapidly reaches the 9 psi. or other differential for which the spring 38 responds to allow the disk to move down to the closed. position shown in phantom in FIG. 4.

Pumping of the liquid out of the well 26 creates a vacuum which draws gas out of the intake piping 27 and initiating the flow of liquid in through the nozzles 30 and upwardly toward the intake pipe. Ordinarily the volume of the intake piping will be greater than the volume of priming liquid available in the well 26. As a result, the pump will usually lose itsprime before liquid from the source such as the barge compartment fills the piping and begins to flow into the well 26. As a result, the delivery of liquid to the tank 33 is interrupted resulting in a decrease in the downward liquid pressure on the valve disk 37, the pressure differential on the latter being eventually overcome by the spring 38. This allows the valve to open thereby again initiating gravitation of liquid trapped in the tank 33 down through the pipe 46 and back to the priming well.

This liquid displaces the gas accumulated in the priming well thus placing the latter under suflicient pressure to open the check valve 57 and force the gas upwardly through the pipe 50 and into the tank 33. This gas escapes through the outlet 52 and passes on into the storage reservoir when displaced by liquid again pumped into the tank 33.

The liquid returned to the pump after disabling of the latter by exhaustion of the liquid in the priming Well effects a repriming of the pump and the resumption of liquid flow under pressure up through the pipe 17 and into the tank. The valve 34 again becomes closed in the manner above described and the withdrawal of liquid from the barge compartment 10 is resumed. These cycles of alternate pumping, repriming of the pump and the disposal of gas are repeated until all gas has been removed from the intake piping and liquid starts to flow from the pipe 27 into the well 26 to maintain the pump in continuous operation.

After the tank 33 becomes full during 'such repeated cycles, the liquid delivered through the pipe 35 is forced up through the outlet 52 and into the piping leading to the storage reservoir. The pump then operates until the barge compartment is emptied or for some other reason the nozzles 30 become exposed permitting gas to enter the intake piping. In such event, the liquid in the Well 26 may become exhausted thus disabling the pump until the latter becomes reprimed in the manner above de scribed through the automatic opening of the valve 34 in responding to the resultant pressure reduction in the tank and the return of priming liquid to the well 26.

The construction and arrangement of the tanks 33 and 26 for trapping and holding the liquid for repriming the pump may be varied to suit different installations and to accommodate other types of pumps. A preferred arrangement is shown in FIG. 6 wherein the parts corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 are indicated by the same but primed reference numerals. In this instance, the pump 12', the priming well 26', and the discharge pipe 17' as well as the tank 33' and the valve 34' are disposed above the deck 14' of a barge or floating clock. The pump is of the split case type known as Peerless Type A centrifugal pump having its shaft 16' disposed horizontally. The pump inlet 25 communicates with the lower part of the tank 26 and the outlet pipe 18 leads to the upper part of the tank 33. As in the installation first described, this is advantageous in preventing objectionable emptying of the tank 33' due to the momentum of the upwardly moving body of liquid after the pump has been disabled by entry of gas into the intake piping While the pump is operating at full capacity. In other respects, enough liquid is trapped in the tank 26 under all service conditions to insure effective repriming of the pump.

In both of the systems described above, it will be apparent that the valves '34, 48, 54 and 57 are readily accessible above the deck of the barge and may be easily removed for repair or adjustment. Thus, by removing the bolts 44 and disengaging the coupling 46 the pipe 46 and the valve casing 3t? may be disconnected and removed from the tank 33. All of these parts are disposed in the open unenclosed area above the deck and above the liquid level so as not to interfere with Or delay the disassembly operation.

The mounting of the automatic valve and associated piping above the barge deck is also advantageous in that the parts are or can be spaced from the pump and thereby less subject to vibration. Maintenance costs are thus reduced and the service life of the system prolonged.

Since the repriming of the pump occurs entirely automatically, the improved pumping system is brought into action simply by starting the engine 23 and continues to operate without attention in spite of interruptions in the submergence of the suction nozzles 30 due to tilting of the barge or the like. Through the use of the system, oil barges or other tanks may be unloaded rapidly at minimum costs both in normal operation of the equipment and in the servicing thereof.

I claim as my invention:

A system for pumping liquid from a compartment having, in combination, a tank having a top outlet adapted for extension to a storage reservoir, a power driven pump disposed below the bottom of said tank, a second tank communicating with the inlet of said pump and adapted to contain a column of liquid disposed above said inlet and having a volume sufficient to prime said pump, an intake pipe extending into said compartment and communicating with said second tank at a point sufficiently high to permit trapping of said liquid volume in said second tank, a second pipe connecting the discharge outlet of said pump to said first tank and communicating therewith at a point spaced sufficiently above the bottom of said first tank to trap therein enough liquid to prime said pump, a third pipe adapted for the gravitational flow of liquid out of the bottom of said first tank and into said second tank, a valve controlling the fiow of liquid through said third pipe, means biasing said valve to open and responsive to the pressure in said first tank to maintain the valve closed during continued delivery of liquid into said first tank through said second pipe but to open the valve automatically in response to a predetermined drop in the pressure in said first tank due to interruption in the delivery of liquid thereto, and an automatic check valve interposed in said third pipe and operable to open and permit said gravitational flow but to close automatb cally and prevent a reverse flow of liquid through said third pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,206,385 Sperry Nov. 28, 1916 1,757,282 Wood May 6, 1930 1,910,531 Ferguson May 23, 1933 1,989,061 Longenecker Jan. 22, 1935 1,997,418 Hocnschuch Apr. 9, 1935 2,022,624 Longnecker Nov. 26, 1935 2,219,635 Ralston Oct. 29, 1940 2,510,190 Nicolette June 6, 1950 2,902,940 Meyer Sept. 8, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 850,583 France Dec. 20, 1939 

